Think Like A Man
by Schweetpea1870
Summary: My very first fanfic AND songfic! It's gonna be a two-shot focused on Riley and Cindy. When temper flares and drama ensues, what better way is there to express their feelings? Through song of course... after being forced to by their friends that is! :x
1. Prologue

Hey everyone! This is my very first fanfic so first I just wanna say thanks for even clicking on the story and bothering to read this.

Next, I've gotta say that I absolutely love the Boondocks (obvi), especially some Riley/Cindy & Huey/Jazmine. I've been playing this new song on repeat for days called _Think Like A Man_ by Jennifer Hudson, Ne-Yo, & Rick Ross. After, hmm, maybe the 27th time listening to it, a plot kinda began to unravel in my mind and I thought: "Huh. I totally could picture Riley and Cindy singing this to each other."

And so this oneshot songfic was born [**PAUSE**: I really wanted to give the backstory to what lead up to the main focus of them singing in the story, but it got sort of long, so this is going to consist of two chapters. Sooo a twoshot I guess? Is this a thing? If not, I just made it one. Cause I like to break the rules… okay un-pause].

Hope you enjoy! Also, if you haven't heard this song, seriously suggest listening to it. Love Jennifer Hudson & Ne-Yo's voices together.

Disclaimer: I **do not** own any part of Aaron McGruder's_ The Boondocks_ and his characters. Also do not own the song _Think Like A Man_.

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><p><span>Think Like A Man<span>

Cindy

She had basically become an insomniac.

She hadn't always been one, and on normal circumstances, she wouldn't have given a shit. She usually didn't go to bed until around 2 or 3 in the morning anyway. The difference now? Ever since things had gotten so screwed up, she now found it impossible to go to sleep. Which left her with endless hours to just lie in bed and think.

To think about everything that had led her to this point. Think about everything that had transpired between now and the last three weeks. And think about the one person who had brought her to the place she was in now.

Riley-fucking-Freeman.

Twenty-one year old Cindy McPhearson rolled over on her side, continuing the clutch the pillow tightly to her chest.

She didn't want to think about that… that… boy! That asshole! That dickhead! That…

Cheater.

She closed her eyes tightly as the thoughts began to swarm through her mind again. It was like her brain refused to think about anything else. It was tormenting.

She thought about the way things had been before everything had managed to become so screwed up. Back to when they just seemed so… _right_ for each other. They were so alike. They had the same interests, the same tastes, the same attitudes. Everything. He made her laugh. He treated her as his equal, he didn't care that she was a girl. He didn't care that she was white. He wasn't afraid to challenge her either, which really impressed her. With her attitude, almost everyone was afraid to stand up to her. Riley wasn't. Well, he and his know-it-all brother both weren't, but that was it.

She had a crush on him since they were kids. And as they grew older, they just seemed more and more perfect for each other.

But things always have a way of changing.

She saw the signs before he did. She noticed as she got older that their tempers were exactly alike, probably the worst similarity that they both shared. When they got into it, it was war. Neither refused to back down. Ever. The only thing that "resolved" the problem? Passionate, heavy, make-up sex. And that was that. They problem would be over, never to be resurfaced again.

Another thing she noticed, Riley was a terrible alcoholic. For one thing, he didn't know his limit to save his life. He would get wasted to the point where he would blackout and just say and do the most ridiculous and stupid thing. When he finally sobered up, he would rarely ever remember any part of the night prior.

And of course, she had noticed Brandy.

Cindy's nails involuntarily gripped tighter around the pillow in anger as her mind continued to race.

Brandy, the girl that had been in the same grade as Riley. Brandy, who had happened to work with Riley at the Nike Store. Brandy, the central focal point around their more recent fighting.

Oh, she had noticed her, alright.

Cindy began to notice her the first couple of times Riley would reference to her while telling a story about work. When Cindy asked who she was, he'd reply with "just a friend from work." She had noticed her when Riley would get evasive when Cindy would ask him who he was texting. He would stare at her for a moment, as if debating on whether to reveal, before settling on his standard answer: nobody. It was when Cindy had stopped into the mall to drop off Riley's lunch that he'd forgotten, that she'd really noticed her. She had been about to walk into the Nike Store to find him, but had spotted the back of his braided head sitting at a table outside of the next store down. And he didn't appear to be alone. Because his back was to her, she had the urge to walk a little closer. Sure enough, she saw the Riley was sitting with a beautiful girl with long dark hair, a curvy body, and a charming smile. There was one plate of food on the table, from which they seemed to be sharing from. Cindy saw how the girl smiled and giggled. How she playfully shoved Riley's arm when he had said something to her. How she batted her long lashes and gazed at him with a dreamy expression. And she had seen the nametag on her chest.

Brandy.

Because she was a no-bullshit kind of girl, she confronted him about it later, to which he immediately brushed off.

It's nothing. We're just friends. Why are you so jealous? Get off my back. You're crazy.

The arguments became worse and worse, each one still focused around the same damn issue. No matter how many times the fighting would die down, no matter how much she tried to let it go, and no matter how much they "made-up," it would also come back up. And the fighting would be worse than before.

And then… she did the thing that she wished she could take back. The thing that would have prevented things to snowball the way they did. The thing that changed everything.

She'd gone behind his back. She violated his trust. She snooped through his phone.

Riley had been in the shower and had left his phone on the bed. Cindy originally had no intention of going through it. She had been getting ready to go out with Jazmine and was fixing her hair.

Then she had heard his phone vibrate on the bed.

That's when she had been tempted.

He was in the shower. She'd put it right back. He'd never know.

She walked over to the bed slowly, trying to delay her burning desire to look. She picked it up, and slowly hitting the button for the phone to light up. And then she read: New Message from Brandy.

That's when her conscious went out the window. Now she had to know.

Without giving it another thought, she went to his messages and went to the conversations between him and her. She was angry to see that there was over 200 recent messages between the two of them. She became angrier to see that she liked to give him little pet names. _"Hey boo." "Whaddup, bae?"_ She had reached furious when she saw a picture of her blowing a kiss to the camera, a subtitle reading _Miss ya, babe._

"_What… the _fuck_… is you doin'?" _

Cindy winced, remembering the harshness of his words as she looked up, horrified to see him standing in the doorway, glaring at his phone in her hand.

And then all hell broke loose.

Their screams were heard by her neighbors. Objects were thrown. Threats were made. And then he had stormed out, angrier than she had ever seen him in her life. He hadn't come back to her place that night, not that she expected. Not that she even wanted him to. But she had never expected him to do what he did.

She found out later than everyone else. She had been driving to pick up some pain killer for her headache when she started getting texts from people.

From Jazmine_: Ohmygod, Cindy. I'm so sorry. Please talk to me. It's going to be okay. I'm coming to check on you._

From Caesar: _Cin, I am so sorry. You know I'm here if you ever need to talk to me._

Even from Huey, probably the most unemotional man on the planet: _Wow. I'm sorry, Cindy. I truly am. I'll talk to him, believe me._

She had been so confused and slightly scared when she got them all, within minutes of each other. The only person she responded to was Jazmine, asking her what the hell was going on. The only response:

_You didn't' get the text? Sent from Riley's phone? _

She didn't bother replying. Before she even knew what she was doing, she had pulled up to the Woodcrest mall and began marching to the Nike Store. She knew that Riley would be off today. She had no idea when Brandy's hours were, but she knew one thing. Even if she wasn't working, somebody was going to tell her where the hell the bitch lived.

Lucky for her, she didn't have to do an interrogation. The bitch was standing at the counter, a simple smirk on her lips as she watched Cindy storm in.

"_May I help you?"_ Cindy remembered her saying amusingly, as if she didn't need to fear for her life.

"_Bitch, I'm gonna say this one time." She remembered uttering lowly. "I don't know what the hell you sent from his phone or whatever the hell rumor you done spread, but I'mma tell you right now. It. Ends. _Now_." _

"_Well, I don't know anything about a rumor, but if you're referring to a text…" _Brandy said as if confused as she pulled out her cellphone, hit a few buttons, before spinning it around. _"I received this one about ten or so minutes ago… from Riley."_

Cindy couldn't help it, she let a tear fall on her pillow as she remembered the picture vividly. The way Brandy had been straddled on top of Riley. The way he was shirtless. The way she was bra-less. The way they were both horizontal in bed as they shared a passionate kiss.

"_And by the looks of the message, it seems like it was forwarded on to a bunch of people. Probably everyone in his address book." _Brandy continued as Cindy stared at the picture in shock. _"Well, except for you, obviously. Weird, huh?" _She had said with just enough sarcasm to make Cindy regain her composure. She looked up at Brandy slowly, her eyes darkening.

"_So you're basically telling me that you are the one that took this picture." She asked evenly._

"_Well, my phone wasn't with me, so I had to use his. And then maybe I wanted to send to picture to myself for a keepsake. But when I did that, I must've accidentally hit forward to his entire address book. Whoops."_ She shrugged.

"_And you're really just going to stand there, staring at me with innocent eyes as you tell me all this?" _Cindyhad asked calmly.

"_Well, first off, on the real, I didn't even know Riley was in a relationship before last night. You know, before I ran into him at the bar and we had a few drinks. So if you're gonna be mad at anyone be mad at yo man for not telling and for going along with it. Two, he had mentioned that you two had gotten into a fight and that it was over and done between you, so can you really be mad? And three, what the hell are you gonna do to me? Here, in the mall, with all these people? You ain't bad, white girl. And more importantly, you ain't gonna do shit here." _As she had rambled on and on, which is what Cindy had expected her to do, she hadn't noticed that Cindy had sat her purse down, pulled her hair back, taken off her necklace, and taken off her earrings. Her last statement was what had caught Cindy's attention.

She thought she wasn't go do shit, huh? Just because she was in public? Just because there were _witnesses_?

Brandy clearly didn't know her.

And that's when Cindy had a blackout of her own.

Riley

Riley Freeman looked to the door to see his brother open it and step in.

"Nigga, what the hell you want? Get out my room." He muttered, continuing to toss his basketball in the air from his spot on his bed.

"Until someone informs me otherwise, this is still, and will always be, part of my room too. A lot of stuff of mine is still in here, including my bed." Huey replied in a bored tone as he leaned against the wall.

"You's don't even live here anymore, man! What's the point of even bringin' yo ass?"

"To check up on Granddad. To make sure he's still taking his medicine. To make sure you haven't killed him yet… or vice versa, I suppose." He shrugged.

Huey had moved out when he graduated from high school and had been accepted into the University of Maryland, College Park. He got an apartment a few blocks away from the house and commuted back and forth to school, even though it was a half hour away. Everyone was shocked that he didn't go somewhere far away since he always talked about how he wanted to get the hell out of Woodcrest. But Riley knew his brother, and he knew the only reason he hadn't gone somewhere far yet, was to do exactly what he'd just admitted. To try and continue to take care of him and Granddad.

"Please. He don't need no extra person watchin' over his ass. I got it." He continued to toss the ball in the air.

"Even if I pretended that that statement was true… who's gonna check up on _your_ ass?" Huey asked pointedly, raising his eyebrow.

"Nobody." He said lowly. "I don't need anybody." He said the last part quietly as he finally stopped tossing the ball, closing his eyes momentarily.

"…You wanna talk about it?"

"Not really." Riley shrugged, pushing the ball so it'd roll off the bed. "Ain't nothin' to talk about no how."

"Riley."

"I don't even know what the hell you're tryna get at. What do _you_ wanna talk about?"

"Riley."

"Probably just wanna talk about yourself anyway. Everything peachy keen wit' you and _Jazmine_?" he rolled his eyes, stressing her name.

"We're good, thanks." Huey's eyes hardened. "How are you and C-"

"Don't." Riley uttered through clenched teeth with his eyes closed. "Say…. Her name."

When he finally opened his eyes to glare at his brother, he saw that Huey had almost a sympathetic look on his face.

"You're gonna have to talk about it sooner or later, Riley." He said calmly.

Riley sighed, sitting up and resting his arms on his knees. "How are you and Jazz? Fo'real?" He asked his brother.

Huey nodded with a shrug as he sat down on his old bed. "We're doin' pretty well, I guess. She wanted me to tell you that she misses you… not that I can imagine why." He smirked.

Riley grinned. "Yeah, whateva. Tell her to save that gayness for you."

"I think I'll just stick to the original message and tell her that you miss her too."

"Whateva, nigga." He rolled his eyes with a smirk. Then he got quiet again. "Has she, uh… heard from anybody… recently?" Riley asked, scratching the back of his neck.

Huey shot him a look. "Can you be a little more specific? Jazmine is basically friends with everyone so-"

"You know damn well who I'm talking about!" Riley snapped quickly. "_Cindy_. Damn."

"Well, that clears things up." Huey said, ignoring the glare he got in response. "And yeah…. She has."

"How'd she say she's doing, man?" Riley asked quietly.

Huey turned to Riley and gave him a knowing look. "Judging by what she tells me and by the way you've been acting… I'd say she's doing and feeling about the same as you."

Riley lowered my head with a nod. "Great."

"You two have to talk eventually, Riley." He heard Huey say.

"What the hell am I supposed to say, man? What can I possibly tell her that is gonna make any of this go away?" He said with a blank look. Huey returned it.

"You be honest with her. No, it might not make the problem go away. It most likely won't. But at least you'll be trying to fix it. At least attempting to make it better. Sitting here in your room all day is solving nothing. You're just as miserable as she is."

"She said she never wanted to see me again, man." Riley muttered.

Huey scoffed. "I highly doubt it. You and her both say a shitload of stuff when you're mad. Which is what gets you into trouble in the first place."

Riley shook his head, continuing. "I'd never seen her as serious as she was, man. It was bad. Hella bad. Like no joke."

"Care to elaborate? I never got the whole story." Huey leaned back on the headboard of his bed and gave Riley his full attention.

"Well..." Riley began, rubbing his arm. "You know 'bout how she went through my phone, right?" Huey nodded once. "I was mad as _hell_. Not because I had some real secretive shit or nothin', but 'cuz she just straight up disrespected me. Like, you fo'real, bitch? You can't trust me that much you gonna look through my _phone_? You _never_ snoop on someone else's shit. 'Specially a real nigga's shit."

"Continue." Huey rolled his eyes, already sounding bored.

"Nigga, who is tellin' the story?" Riley snapped. "Like I was sayin', after that shit, I just peeled out, knaa'mean? Mad as hell. I went down to the bar, right? And-"

"How the _hell_ are you even getting into the bar and getting served? You're nineteen!"

"Don't worry 'bout all dat. I knows people." Riley grinned as Huey narrowed his eyes. "Anyways, hater, I'm in the bar gettin' a few drinks to just unwind and chill out, when I see my friend… well, used to be friend. That hoe can just choke on a dick now." Riley's eyes quickly hardened as he remembered.

Huey's eyebrow lifted. "The same one from the-"

"Yup." Riley nodded, giving him a look. "The same. Damn. Whore."

"Shit." Huey muttered. "I can see where this is going."

"Pretty much." Riley nodded his head as he continued. "Anyway, she was there. She saw that I was upset and tried to get me to talk to her. Steady buyin' me drinks by the way. At first I wasn't gonna, but after the fourth or fifth drink on her dime, I started feelin' a little better. And I did tell her."

"What happened then?" Huey asked, looking grim.

"Well, after the next few drinks, I honestly don't know. Well, I know now, but I remember nothing else from that night, man." Riley sighed, shaking his head.

"Damn." Huey said. Riley nodded. "I know. I need a drink now just thinking about it."

"The hell you do." Huey snapped. Riley rolled his eyes. "Continue."

"Well, obviously you know what went down. I woke up, saw us both in the same bed, and felt like the worst piece of shit to ever walk the earth. I couldn't remember anything at all."

"What'd you do?"

"I woke her the hell up and asked her what happened even though I pretty much already knew being as though we were both naked." Riley watched his brother wince. "She confirmed it though. I felt so damn bad. For one, she really was like a friend to me. I had guessed that maybe she mighta liked me at a time, but I just didn't see that way. Why would I when I have Cindy? _Had_ Cindy." Riley clarified, looking sadder as he went on. "I just couldn't believe that I did that to her. Yeah, she pissed me off, but she didn't deserve that." Riley said, shaking his head while looking solemn.

"Go on. What happened then?" Huey prodded.

Riley sighed. "Well, I told her I was sorry. I said that I didn't mean for it to happen and that it was a mistake. She had promised me that she wasn't going to tell anyone and that it would be our secret. Bitch." Riley's eyes narrowed, as did Huey's. "I went to go change in her bathroom, but when I came back out, she left this stupid ass note by my phone that said she had gone to work. I didn't even think about it, I just grabbed the rest of my shit and got the hell out. I was gonna go to Cindy's house to try to talk, but remembered I had to stop in work anyway to pick up my check. I had just gotten there when the texts came." Riley closed his eyes as he remembered. "Everyone was flippin' the hell out on me, including _you_," he stopped to glare at his brother who grimaced in response. "I was about to try to find out when I noticed Cindy's car parked in front of mine. I forgot about it and just ran inside to find her. I found her alright."

"Wait, didn't the bitch say she was stopping into work too?" Huey asked, his eyes widening. Riley snickered at him. "Yup."

"Oh hell." Huey muttered, putting two and two together.

"This girl went straight _off_. I've never seen her that mad before. Grant it, the bitch did need that ass-whoopin', but damn, I really thought Cindy was gonna kill her."

"I'm sure that was her original intention had she not been restrained…. Sorry. Go 'head." Riley glared at him before resuming.

"It took me, all of my five other co-workers, two witnesses, and six mall cops to stop her from attacking her." Huey let out a low whistle. "Yeah. Then, when she noticed that I was one of the people that was holding her back, she knocked _me_ the fuck out. I woke up on the damn floor about 20 minutes later after she had already been kicked out of the mall and the bitch had been taken to the hospital. Now I must've still been out of it, 'cuz I decided to drive to her house."

"By yourself?" Huey asked incredulously. His brother nodded once. "You realize you could've died right?" Riley rolled his eyes. "Whateva."

"What happened?" Huey asked quietly.

"Nothing good. As soon as I got there, she told me to look at the picture that had been taken and sent out from my phone." Huey winced. "Then it just got worse from then on. It was bad, man. We said a lot of shit. Some shit we never shoulda said." Riley said, putting his head into his hands.

Huey was silent as he realized Riley probably didn't want to discuss the things he had said. But it didn't stop Riley from remembering every word.

"_I HATE YOU!"_ He remembered Cindy screaming from the top of her lungs. _"I fucking hate you! I can't believe you could ever do this me! I can't believe I ever put my trust in you! You _pathetic_ excuse of a lyin' punk-ass, pussy-chasin', bitch-ass, no good CHEATER!"_

And then something inside Riley snapped. He was so angry with himself, with Brandy, with this entire situation he just couldn't contain it. He let his temper get the better of him once again and didn't think before opening his mouth.

"_How the FUCK can I cheat?"_ He had screamed, causing Cindy to pause and stop momentarily. _"Have you ever _once_ heard the word 'girlfriend' come out of my mouth in relation to you? We're not even together. We've never been defined as boyfriend or girlfriend, so how the hell can I cheat on you if we aren't and never were anything?"_

Riley clenched his fists and ground his teeth together as he remembered his harsh words. Maybe they had been true, but he knew that just because they weren't defined, didn't mean anything. What he had said had been total bullshit. He cared for and respected her more than anybody he knew. She was his everything.

He remembered as one lone tear rolled down her cheek as she stared at him. The way she looked at him, hurt written all over her face. And the way her next words, broke both of their hearts.

"_You're right."_ She said, her voice managing to remain stable even though another tear fell from her eyes. _"You're absolutely right. We aren't anything. So congratulations. And I promise you, we never will be."_

"_Cindy-"_

"_Get the fuck out, Freeman. And this time, don't come back. I mean it." _She had said, turning her back on him and going into her room. Riley had heard the lock of the door click as he walked closer down the hallway. He could hear the sound of something shattering, signifying she had thrown something. And then he heard the sound of her crying. It was soft at first, as if she was trying to be quiet. Then they started to grow louder.

Devastated, with nothing left to say or do to change the outcome of the situation, he slowly walked out.

Riley felt a hand on his shoulder. He glanced up slowly to see Huey staring at him with a somber expression.

"I'm sorry."

"I dunno why. You're not the one who fucked everything up. I did."

"So fix it."

"I don't know how." Riley admitted honestly.

"You will. Soon enough you will." Huey said, rising to his feet. Riley shrugged as Huey began to walk to door.

"Hey." Riley looked at his brother, who stood in the doorway.

"It's gonna work out in the end. You know that right?" Huey asked.

"There's no guarantee." Riley muttered. Huey scoffed, causing Riley to glance back at him.

"When have you ever known me to be wrong about anything?" He smirked.

Riley grinned and rolled his eyes. "Whateva, nigga. Get your gay ass the hell outta my room."

"Love you too, man. See you tomorrow." He smirked again, the closest thing he had to a smile, before leaving the doorframe.

Riley sighed as he laid down on his bed again. He crossed his arms behind his head as he thought about everything. About what had happened. About what his brother had said. About Cindy.

He wanted her back. He needed her back in his life.

The only thing he could hope for was that his stupid brother's intuition wouldn't fail him this time.

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><p>Author's Note: And now you see why I thought it'd be better for two chapters. I like details as you can see.<p>

The next chapter should be out either later today or tomorrow at the latest hopefully.

Hope you like it! Please feel free to drop a review! Whether you love it or hate it, let me know.

Thanks again for reading my first story! Update sooon! :)

~ Schweetie


	2. Think Like A Man Part II

Hey guys! Here's part two! Hope you like it! And thanks for reading!

Also, an extra special shout-out thank you goes out to Paige1292 and SweetDreamsAreMadeOfMe for being the first two people to review my story 1st story. This one's for you! [**PAUSE**: And yo, both of these guys are mad talented. Go check out their stories right now! … Well, after you finish this chapter. Then go! … Pretty please? :) ]

Disclaimer: I **do not** own any part of Aaron McGruder's _The Boondocks_ and his characters. Also do not own the song _Think Like A Man_.

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><p><span>Think Like A Man (Part II)<span>

Jazmine

"Cindy, I'm gonna be honest," Jazmine Dubois blurted, looking at her best friend. "You look like crap."

Cindy snorted in response. "No shit, Sherlock." She replied before tossing back her shot of tequila.

They were currently sitting at Cindy's island counter, talking. If you could call it that. They both knew that they were both talking precariously around certain subjects. For instance, earlier Jazmine had been positive that Cindy was about to ask her how she and Huey were doing, but Cindy had hesitated in the middle of her question and said something totally different. It was obvious as to why. Talking about her relationship involved talking about Huey Freeman. And Jazmine was pretty sure Cindy didn't want to even _think_ about that last name, let alone hear it. Likewise, Jazmine was going to ask her what she had been doing outside of class, but had already known the answer. Nothing.

Ever since the incident, Jazmine knew that Cindy rarely left her house, with the exception to go to school. Which was just weird. Cindy _hated_ being cooped up in the house. To see her like this, a fragile shell of her normal self, was killing Jazmine.

Poor Cindy. Poor Riley too.

She had heard the story from Cindy. And more from Huey. She knew that what he had done was wrong, but she also knew deep down that it hadn't had been intentional. Jazmine knew Riley truly cared about Cindy. He wouldn't have tried to sabotage her like this on purpose. He had just been oblivious. Poor kid. She hadn't talked to him since everything had happened out of respect to Cindy. But she was pretty sure that even if she tried, there was no way he would open up to her in fear that she would go "snitch" to Cindy (which she wouldn't). And even if he _did_ talk to her, Cindy would demand for her to tell by law of Girl Code.

So basically, she was screwed either situation. Which is why she hadn't talked to him yet.

"I'm just saying, honey," Jazmine tried again gently. "You've been in your house for days. You need to get out."

"It's called relaxing. It's good for you." Cindy grumbled, reaching for the bottle to pour herself another shot.

"Not 24 hours a day for weeks, Cin." Her friend rolled her eyes in response. "And you've been in sweats and hoodies for days. You're making _me_ look like the fashion-forward one out of the pair of us." She continued.

"Well then you should enjoy it." Cindy shrugged.

"Look, we're all going out tonight. We haven't had a group night in ages, so we're planning to go to Staged again." Jazmine said with an excited smile. "We had so much fun the night it opened, remember?"

Staged was the newest 18 and over club that Ed Wuncler Sr. had built in Woodcrest. It was now the coolest, wildest, and most popular place to attend on a Saturday night. Staged was a giant circular building. When you went inside, there was a massive round stage in the very center (hence the name of the club) with the dance floor circling around it, the bars along the walls. Ed Wuncler had found the best band around as the main attraction. The band, that very cleverly had named themselves Wunclered, was amazing. They could do any song by request and could make it sound even better than the original version. There were also karaoke nights, where aspiring singers would request to sing a song while the band played for them. When the singers were great, Wuncler would maybe try to convince them to work with him. But when they sucked, the singer would fall into a trapdoor, nobody knowing where it led to.

It was always a good time.

"Come on, you _need_ this night. We'll have so much fun, do some dancing, maybe have a few drinks-"

"When you say 'we…'" Cindy had cut her off while staring into her eyes. "Who are you referring to?"

Jazmine twirled a lock of her hair around her index finger. "Oh, um, you know… just the usual crowd… the gang… you know." She said, quickly sipping her glass of water.

"Names, Jazmine." Cindy's eyes narrowed.

"Well, Caesar, of course. He's real excited. Me. _You_. Uhhmm… probably Huey. _Maybe_. I'm not sure though, I haven't checked-"

"Jazmine." Cindy's voice was cold. "Is Riley coming?"

"Wellll, I honestly don't know. I haven't talked to him. I mean it's always a possibility, I suppose, but-"

"No."

"Cindy!" Jazmine protested.

"Hell no. There's no way I'm going if there's a chance he's going. Absolutely not." Cindy stood up, as if trying to keep herself busy. She placed her empty shot glass in the sink with a loud clank and began tidying up her kitchen. "Y'all done lost your damn minds. I don't want to even see his face."

"Cin, you can't hide in here forever!"

"I'm not hiding, I'm just avoiding seeing his triflin' ass."

"That's the same thing!"

"Whatever. I don't care. I'm not going anywhere where's there's a chance of him being there." She began to storm out of the kitchen. She had just left when Jazmine decided to take a big risk.

"Cindy, if you ask me, you're acting like a scared little _bitch_!"

She heard Cindy's footsteps pause in the hallway. Then she heard them quickly re-approaching until she was standing back in the doorway, arms crossed, attitude in full.

"Ex_cuse_ you?"

Bingo.

"Girl, I'm just sayin'. Look at you. He's got you hiding here in your own house, sweats, no makeup, terrified to leave-"

"I never said all that-" Cindy pressed a hand to her chest, walking closer.

"Because of what _his_ ass has done. This isn't you. Your name _used_ to be McPhearson. You _used_ to say 'fear some, or GET some.' But look at you now. The only person scared here is you." Jazmine paused for a moment to let some of it sink it. Cindy's jaw was practically hanging open, her eyes wide as she listened.

This was really working. Now to sell it. Jazmine stood and walked closer until she was face to face with Cindy.

"Cindy, the only person that needs to fear someone is _him_. You are, excuse me, Cindy-fucking-McPhearson." Jazmine grinned as Cindy raised an eyebrow at her language. "Now here's my suggestion: we are going to _hope_ that Riley _does_ decide to come to the club. Why? Because tonight, you and I are gonna dress you in the sexiest outfit, have your beautiful blond hair perfect, make-up gorgeous, and we're going to show Riley what he's missing out on. He is going to wish he never screwed up in the first place. And hun, by walking into the club, acting like you own it, like you normally pretend to do anyway, you are going to prove to him that you are a hundred percent even without his sorry behind."

Jazmine held her breath as she waited for Cindy's reaction. This could either be a total success or a total fail.

Then… Cindy's lips slowly turned up into a grin.

"I like the way you think." Jazmine let out a sigh of relief. "But Jazz, you ever call me a bitch again and you're dead."

* * *

><p>Huey<p>

Huey Freeman was going to kill them.

They were supposed to have been at Staged by now, but Huey was forced to wait on Caesar and Riley's slow asses to hurry up and get ready. First, it had taken forever just to convince Riley to come, telling him it was going to be a boys' night.

"_Ewwww, niggas dat's gay."_

"_The hell it is. I'm tryna find me a girl, ya dig?"_ Caesar had said with a smirk. _"Maybe we can find you one too."_

Riley's eyes hardened in response. _"Nah, man, I'm done with these hoes."_

"_Now _that_ sounds gay."_ Caesar cracked up.

"_Shuddup, punk!"_

"_I'm just playin', but it's okay if you're scared, man. Don't worry about it."_ Caesar nodded his head with an understanding smile.

"_Scared of _what_?"_

"_I mean, it's understandable being off your game-"_

"_Reezy ain't _never_ off-"_

"_Especially your first night out. But hey, it's normal. You're still just a kid. You leave this to the big dogs, youngin'."_

"_Bitch, I got yo youngin'. Gimme ten minutes." _And with that, Riley had gone upstairs to get ready in his room.

Caesar had reached over to Huey without even looking, waiting for him to give him some dap.

"_This is why you keep me around."_

"_Pretty much." _Huey had replied with an eyeroll, fist bumping him anyways.

That had been 30 minutes ago. And Riley and Caesar were just _now_ trudging down the steps, following Huey out the door.

"I don't know how it takes you two a half hour to get ready." Huey mumbled as he opened the door to his car. Caesar shoved Riley out of the way to get shotgun, while Riley grudgingly slid in the backseat.

"I was trying to redo a section of my hair. It's not easy being a dread-head, you know!"

"I'll take your word for it. What the hell were you doing, Riley?"

"Aye, stop sweatin' me, aiight? I be done slapped the taste out ya mouth, son!"

"You'll be walking to Staged in about five seconds."

"Man, whateva! I was lookin' for my chain. Gotta be shinin', knaa'mean?" Huey rolled his eyes. For some reason, whenever they went to a club or party, Riley felt the need to wear his stupid necklace.

As Huey pulled up to a red light, he got a text message.

**Cindy and I are here. Riley w/ you guys?**

Huey gave Caesar a side glance and cleared his throat. When he looked at him, Huey gestured to the phone in his lap with a nod. Caesar grinned and pulled out his phone, starting on his part.

**Yeah. Caesar's on it now. We'll be there soon.**

"Nigga, is you blind? The light's green!" Riley snapped from behind him. "Stupid-ass nigga." He muttered.

Huey began to drive again, glaring at Riley in the rearview mirror.

'_Oh, we'll see whose feeling real stupid in about five minutes.'_ Huey thought to himself, smirking.

* * *

><p>CindyRiley

"Hey, little mama, can I buy you a drink?" Cindy turned to see a tall, cute guy with a charming smile grinning down at her.

"Well, actually me and friend just had one. But I would love to have one with you a little later, if you don't mind waiting for me." Cindy said smoothly, gazing up at him.

"Oh, definitely." The guy's smile got wider.

"Please and thank you." Cindy said coolly, as she and Jazmine passed by him and away from the bar.

"Girl, you are so back." Jazmine smirked.

"Back and better than ever." Cindy winked.

"And you look _hot_." She said honestly. "There's no way I could pull that off."

Cindy shrugged a shoulder with a grin. Jazmine had demanded that Cindy wear an electric blue low off-shoulder top that bared a lot of skin and just the right amount of cleavage. Cindy was one of the few people that could get away with wearing leggings as pants, which is exactly what she had done. The contrasting dark blue leggings and strappy white heels made her completely stand out.

"Of course you can't pull of the leggings, you're too damn skinny." Jazmine giggled. "But you look super amazing as well, Miss Legs." Jazmine had decided to wear a dusty pink and sparkly minidress that hugged her tiny body in all the right places and made her long legs seem to go on forever. "You're gonna send Huey into cardiac arrest."

"Oh yeah right!" Jazmine laughed. "You know how he is. The man of no emotion."

"Except in bed." Cindy cracked as Jazmine blushed, swatting at her friend.

"Ooh. Speak of the devils." Jazmine and Cindy both turned to the main door to see no other than Huey, Caesar, and Riley strolling in, looking stunningly handsome as usual. Huey wore a gray button-down shirt with black jeans and white sneakers, his afro making him seem mysteriously intriguing. Caesar was wearing a white shirt with the words "MADE IN BROOKLYN" in red letters, a scan barcode underneath. He wore dark blue jeans with red and white shoes. Finally, Cindy laid her eyes on Riley. He was wearing a sick black t-shirt that had a lightning streak running from the collar to the bottom of the shirt. He was wearing baggy blue jeans with white and black Air Jordans. And, of course, he was wearing his Lethal Interjection chain for good luck.

"You ready?" Jazmine asked Cindy nervously.

"Oh, I'm ready. It's time for a meet 'n greet." She grinned, beginning to walk over with her.

"By the way, Huey texted me a little while ago saying that Riley didn't know we were coming, so just act like this is a coincidence, okay?" Jazmine muttered as they walked.

"No problem." Cindy's eyes zeroed in Riley as he finally turned to see them approaching. "Let's do this."

"Daayuummm! Girls are lookin' good, bruh!" Caesar said quietly to Huey and Riley as they watched Cindy and Jazmine walk their way.

"They are." Huey agreed with a nod.

"I _thought_ y'all said this was gonna be a boys' night out." Riley muttered angrily, glaring at them both.

"Gay." Caesar snickered.

"Don't play wit' me, man, I'm serious!" He snapped, but lowered his voice as they drew closer.

"I sure as hell didn't know. You, Huey?" Riley and Caesar both turned to him. Huey shrugged.

"Nope."

"Jazz ain't tell you they was comin'?" Riley narrowed his eyes at his older brother who returned it evenly.

"Nope." He repeated.

"… You lyin' piece a-"

"Heeeyyyyy, ladies!" Caesar cut off the brothers loudly. Cindy and Jazmine were now standing in front of the boys, faces calm and collected.

"Hey, Ceez." Cindy surprised everyone by talking first, stepping up to give Caesar a hug and peck on the cheek.

"Look at you! You look amazing, babe! You too, Jazz." Caesar smiled, twirling her around. Cindy giggled. "Thank youuu."

Even though Riley wanted to punch him in the face for being able to hug and receive a kiss on the cheek from her, he was right. Cindy was lookin' good. The top clung to her body in all the right places. And those pants?

_Damn_.

Riley watched as Jazmine first gave Huey a quick kiss on the lips, then stepped in to give Caesar a hug. When she pulled back, she looked hesitant as she stepped forward to hug Riley, but then stopped, looking conflicted.

"Hey, Riley." She offered weakly, waving a hand.

Riley sucked his teeth with an eyeroll. "Oh, I see how it is. You just gonna hug Huey and Caesar, but I get no love? That's how it's gonna be, then? That's what's really hood, huh? Dat's messed _up_!"

"Riley, I-"

"It's okay, Jazmine." Everyone turned to stare at Cindy, whose voice was extra smooth. "You can go ahead and hug the cheater if you want to. I don't mind." She smirked.

"Cindy!" Jazmine scolded, her eyes wide.

"The fuck you just said?" Riley growled.

"Did I stutter?" And just like that, her attitude was back. "I said I didn't give a shit if she hugged your cheatin' ass!"

"Bitch, if you don't go somewhere with all dat _bullshit_-"

"What the hell did you just call me?"

"Did I stutter?"

"HEY!" Huey pushed himself between the two of them, who had been momentarily in each other's faces. "Calm the hell down and act like you got some goddamn sense! Jazmine is not a part of whatever issue that's going on between you two, so keep her out of it."

"Everyone already knows the 'issue' that's going on between us, Huey." Cindy air-quoted.

"Oh, here we go again." Riley rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, here we go again." Cindy said, shoving Huey out from in front of them.

"Oh hell no." Riley barely heard Huey say because his eyes were so focused on Cindy. "I can't take this anymore. Ceez, did you text your friend?"

"I didn't do it on purpose, so let it the hell go!"

"Yeah, I let him know we're here. He should be starting any minute now."

"It doesn't matter, I trusted your ass! I can't believe you!"

"I was _drunk_!"

"And I was _stupid_ for believing you!"

Riley and Cindy both jumped at the sudden sound of feedback from the stage.

"Alright, alright, party people!" Everyone turned to stare at the main guitarist of Wunclered as he spoke into the mike. "You know what night it is, right?" He grinned.

"KARAOKE NIGHT!" The crowd, with the exception of Riley and Cindy, shouted back.

"That's right, y'all! I don't know about you, but I'm excited to see who's gonna perform great and who's gonna fall through the floor, y'know?" He got some laughs at that one. "Well, for our first performers, I got a great recommendation from my man Caesar! Ceez, where you at in this piece?" The guitarist called.

"YOOO!" Riley and Cindy whipped their heads around to see Caesar throwing up deuces and pointing back at the singer. He received a light applause.

"I gotchu, man. Ceez says that he would like Riley Freeman and Cindy McPhearson to please come on up!" The crowd began to applause by way of encouragement.

"WHAT?" Riley and Cindy shouted at the same time.

"Come on, guys, you can't just not go up." Jazmine tried lightly with a small smile.

"The hell I can't! No way!" Cindy shouted.

"No way in _hell_. Y'all niggas _stupid_." Riley crossed his arms.

"Look!" Cindy and Riley were surprised as Jazmine's voice suddenly got harsh. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. What's it gonna be?"

When Riley and Cindy stood their ground and stared back at her, she sighed. "Okayyy. A little help, guys?" Jazmine shrugged, turning to Caesar and Huey.

"Don't you dare—hey!" Cindy cried as Caesar quickly threw her over his shoulder and began to make his way toward stage, Cindy pounding on his back the entire time. Riley turned to Huey.

"I _wish_ you'd tried some slick shit like that, nigga—aye!" Riley was cut off as Huey grabbed him by the back of his braids and proceeded to drag him up to the stage as well, Jazmine tagging behind them. The crowd cheered as they all were finally standing on stage. Caesar finally let Cindy down, then stepped over to give the guitarist a bro-hug. "Thanks for the solid, man."

Cindy's eyes widened. "You guys set us up!"

"No shit, Sherlock." Jazmine grinned, repeated the words that Cindy had handed to her earlier. "Come on, it will be… fun. And if you try escaping again, we'll just drag you back up here." She shrugged before she, Huey, and Caesar left the stage. Riley glared at Cindy, rubbing the back of his head where his brother had grabbed him.

"I ain't singin', I'll tell you that right now."

Cindy stared at him before letting out a humorless chuckle. "Why am I not surprised? Coward."

"The hell you say?"

"You heard me. You're a fucking coward. That's all you'll ever be. I can't even find out from you that you're cheatin', but through the damn grapevine. Through the bitch that you were cheatin' with! No big shock that you can't handle this, you little punk-ass bitch."

That was it. Riley had _had_ it. He was tired of everyone bringing up what he had done. He was tired of everyone questioning his loyalty. He was damn tired of everyone calling him a punk. Especially her.

No more.

Cindy widened her eyes as Riley went to the nearest stand and snatched off the mike from it. He turned to Cindy with a glare so hard she shivered.

"Pick. A Damn. Song." He uttered lowly into the mike.

"OOOOOOOHH!" A loud instigation was heard in the crowd (Cindy thought it sounded like Caesar), causing everyone else to get hype.

Cindy narrowed her eyes at Riley before removing the mike from the stand in front of her. "Oh, trust, I've got the perfect song." She then went over to Caesar's friend and whispered something into his ear.

"Oh yeah, yeah, we know that song. Let's get it." He grinned, going over to the rest of his band to tell them.

Riley and Cindy stared each other down as they heard the tapping of the drummer, signifying the song was ready to start. Three female back-up singers began vocalizing the beginning of the song's intro. And then…

"_But in love, in love, in love, in love,"_ Cindy belted out, completely surprising Riley. He had never heard her sing. Ever.

"_You gotta act like a woman, but think like a man." _Cindy narrowed her eyes at Riley as she stepped up to him.

"_Why you call me your dream, bae? And foolish of me I believe that," _She rolled her eyes and she began to circle around Riley slowly. _"You said every king needs his queen, babe. That's why you needed me, baby._

"_Right in between lost and love…" _She sang as she sidled her back up against Riley_. "You go and mess things up,"_ He didn't even have time to react before she had pushed him back into an empty chair that had been onstage. _"Now there's no we, babe. There's just you and there's me, baby._

"_There was us, there was trust, there was happen and change, I know," _She crooned, leaning closer.

"_Silly you, silly me, silly us, what a waste."_ Cindy turned around quickly, causing her hair to slap into Riley's face, as she faced the audience.

"_But in love, in love, in love, in love," _Riley watched her swaying silhouette as she stood at the front of the stage, singing to the audience, who was eating her up. They loved her.

"_You gotta act like a woman, but think like a man-"_

"_You gotta think like a man…"_ Riley sang out as he stood from the chair, surprising Cindy, who turned around in shock, while continuing to sing.

"_Yeah, in love, in love, in love, in love,"_ She stared in shock as Riley did a nice run with his voice as she sang her line. He smirked in response. The only thing she had ever heard him do was rap. But never singing.

"_You gotta act like-"_

"_Act like-" _Riley added with a grin.

"_A woman-"_

"_A woman-" _He cut in again_._

"_But think like a man."_

"_Now I'mma keep it realer wit' you now than I ever been,"_ Riley sang, striding over to Cindy with a serious expression. _"We shoulda never been, girl, we was better friends,"_

"_You didn't have to tell me,"_ The male back-up singers cut in.

"_What went right when-"_

"_Ooh, I didn't need it,"_

"'_Cuz you wasn't my girlfriend."_ Riley stressed, glaring at Cindy as she crossed her arms defensively and looked away from him.

"_We had a good thing,"_ Riley sang, turning her towards him.

"_You were a combinin' hittin'," _The singers added.

"_Ooh, gimme that good thang." _Riley ran his hand down along the side of her waist to her thigh, smirking as he felt her tremble underneath.

"_Then after we were finished-"_

"_You go your way, I go my way, it was whatever, _

"_Tell me what in the hell made us think this was gon' be better?" _Riley rolled his eyes, rubbing over the top of his head.

"_And now I'm tellin' you lies, all because I hate to see the tears in your eyes,"_ He sang to her, stroking her cheek with his hand.

"_Of course I want my cake and eat it too, I'm a guy," _He shrugged helplessly at that part. _"And of course you don't understand,"_ He leaned down close to her face._ "But you would if you thought like a man."_

"_But in love, in love, in love, in love-"_ Cindy sang back to him, stepping past him and trying to walk away from him.

"_Oh, in love, in love, in love,"_ Riley grabbed her waist and spun her back around, singing with her.

"_You gotta act like-"_

"_Act like,"_

"_A woman-"_

"_Woman,"_

"_But you gotta think like a man-"_

"_You gotta think like a man,"_ Riley sang, pulling her closer to him.

"_But in love, in love, in love, in love, you gotta act like-" _Cindy continued to sing as she fought being pulled closer to Riley, to no avail.

"_You gotta act like,"_

"_A woman-"_

"_A woman,"_

"_But think like a man-"_

"_Think like a man, yeah." _Riley repeated, until she was finally pressed up chest to chest with him_._

The band continued to play the melody of the song that was supposed to be filled by Rick Ross's pointless verse as Cindy and Riley stared at each other.

"I'm sorry. For everything." Riley whispered into his mike.

"What's done is done, Riley… you can't take it back." Cindy whispered back, without raising hers as she took a step back from him.

"Then I'm willing to do everything and anything to make it up to you. It was a mistake that cost me the best thing I had going in my life. I need you back."

"Riley-"

"Aye! Hold up your mike, we can't hear!" Someone from the crowd shouted.

"Shuddafuckup, Caesar!" Cindy snapped loudly offstage, earning a laugh from the audience.

"I honestly don't give a damn who hears me at this point," Riley continued into his mike, ignoring her outburst. "This girl right here," He turned to the audience as he gestured to her. "Is my everything. She's my rock. My girl. My ride-or-die. My _everything_. Y'all here what I'm sayin'? And I fucked up, I'll admit it. But I'm willing to do anything to fix it." The crowd let out a loud cheer as he walked back over to her, cupping her cheek.

"I want you back in my life…. I _need_ you back in my life, Cindy." He all but pleaded.

Cindy took a deep but shaky breath, which was hard to do with him so close, touching her so tenderly with affection she's never seen before, as she continued onto the hook.

"_So different but the same,_

"_Boy, you taught me everything,_

"_Yeah, you showed me how to think, you're the only one to blame," _She sang to him, reaching up and cradling his cheek with her hand. He gave her wrist a kiss that sent a shiver through her arm.

"_It's such a shame,_

"_Yes, you lost the game you taught me how to play,"_

"_But in love…"_ Riley sang out as she continued.

"_In love, in love, in love, you gotta act like-" _Cindy began singing away from him, to the audience once more.

"_Gotta act like," _Riley put in as he gently pulled her into him by her waist, her back now resting against his chest.

"_A woman-"_ Cindy turned her head to the side to stare up at him.

"_A woman,"_ Riley sang to her.

"_But think like a man-"_

"_You gotta think like a man,"_

"_But in love, in love, in love, in love,"_ Cindy sang as she wrapped her free arm up around his neck and swayed with her back to Riley. They weren't even grinding or trying to make it sexual. They were just dancing with each other.

"_You gotta act like-"_

"_Act like,"_

"_A woman-"_

"_Woman-"_

"_But you gotta think like a man."_ Cindy sang, turning her head to face Riley again.

"_Act like a woman,"_ They both sang quietly to each other. "_You gotta think like a man, yeah."_

"_You gotta act like a woman,"_ They sang again, their faces drawing closer. _"But you gotta think like a man…."_

Riley suddenly tossed his mike aside before gently plucking the microphone out of Cindy's hand and letting it drop to the floor. Then he leaned in and kissed her.

The crowd went crazy. The thousands of _whoo_'s and _aww_'s were deafening to everyone except to the two singers kissing on stage.

When they finally parted for much needed air, Riley smiled down at her. Not a smirk. Not a grin. But a sincere Riley Freeman _smile_.

"I love you. And I'm sorry. You know that, right?"

Cindy's only response was to give him another quick peck on the lips. "I love you too," she said breathily. "And don't ever mention it again." She grinned back.

"Ladies and gentlemen, that was Riley and Cindy!" The lead guitarist announced into his mike, causing the crowd to go crazy all over again. "That's gonna be a hard one to top!"

Cindy and Riley both grinned at the audience before stepping down the stairs to get offstage. As soon as they were, they were greeted by their friends.

"That was dope, yo!" Caesar exclaimed. "Who knew these two could sing like that?"

"I did!" Jazmine squealed before launching herself at Riley in a bone-crushing hug. "I knew Cindy could sing, but just knew that Riley could do it! So proud of you guys!" She cooed into his ear.

"Yeah, _now_ you wanna give hugs." Riley smirked, even though he gave her a light squeeze back. She giggled and gave him a big smooch on the cheek. "Sorry for before."

"It's all good."

Caesar was giving Cindy a big hug while Riley approached his brother, who had a knowing smirk on his face.

"Nigga, whatchu grinnin' about?"

Huey's smirk got bigger. "Never been wrong _once_."

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Wow, I can't believe I finished this. This seriously was just a spur-of-the-moment idea in my head, I never thought I'd actually write this out. I've gotta say I'm pretty proud of myself.<p>

Thank you guys so much for reading. This was actually really fun to write so hopefully you'll be seeing more of my stuff soon.

Feel free to review! Love it? Hate it? Anything goes! Feedback's awesome either way! My thank you's are sent in advance.

Much love, y'all. Peace.

~Schweetie


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